Academic Differences
The first major difference I noticed about the German university system is that they run on summer and winter semesters rather than fall and spring. There are typically two types of classes, Vorlesungen (lecture) and Seminar (small, discussion based). Some classes are scheduled on the hour, but don't begin until 15 minutes after. It will usually be denoted on the schedule. Typically there is a professor that leads the class and then some have discussions that follow. Not all have assignments in class. Students are expected to do a lot of work on their own. The courses are very independent and self directed. Classes are typically much less demanding than classes in the US.
Credits
Credit is usually granted at U.S. institutions on the basis of hours that the course met each week. Classes usually meet once a week. European Credit Transfers, in a semester about 30 ECTS-Credits are completed which is equivalent to about 600-900 study hours.
In order to transfer German classes I will have to get a Schein which varies from class to class, but my professors will state what I have to complete to get this. I will also have to get an ISEP transcript.
Grades
I can get support at the international center, with the other students, my cooperating teacher at the school, and my academic advisors.
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